STEAMworks looks to bring education to everyone

Monday

Apr 30, 2018 at 4:49 PMApr 30, 2018 at 4:49 PM

UTICA — Richelle Maki was out of work in February 2017 and was having difficulty finding a position in her chosen field.

"When I thought about what I really wanted to do I knew I wanted to make things, but I also wanted to stay connected to the community as an advocate for people who may need some extra help in life," she said. "So an all-inclusive makerspace was born."

And thus, STEAMworks Ability Lab was established. The company aims to allow everyone to experience and learn about the things they are interested in.

Maki has a degree in business management and has been an advocate for people with disabilities since 2002.

What do you hope to accomplish with STEAMworks Ability Lab?

My hope is that by providing this resource to the community individuals who are frequently told that they "can’t" do something will learn that there are many things that they can do.

Why is it important to you for the company to be all inclusive?

It is important to me that STEAMworks be all inclusive because I do not think that anyone should be left out of a learning opportunity, everyone should have the chance to learn about the things that they are interested in and they should not be barred from this because of circumstances that are beyond their control.

You recently had a harmonograph on display at an event at SUNY Polytechnic in Marcy. Can you describe what that it and what it does?

A harmonograph is a simple machine that uses a system of pendulums moving "in harmony" with each other to create complex elliptical designs similar to spirograph. I built it because I was teaching a geometric drawing class and I realized that a person with poor hand dexterity would not be able to participate.

What other type of things does the company do to ensure that it is inclusive to all kids?

Other things that we do are pretty simple. Extra time is allowed for an activity to be completed, kids are encouraged to explore and experiment, breaks are given when a kid is overwhelmed they can take a walk or do another activity for a few minutes to refocus.

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